WATER: We were fortunate to find an old hand-dug well on Black Dike, uncovered and with plenty of debris, but water is magic in Arizona! We cleaned up and covered the well, chlorinated the water, and all's well now.
We use 40-100 watts of PV on a tall pole to clear the trees to the south. The PV power is fed thru a LCB (lineal current booster) and then to a Shurflo 9300 DC submersible pump. No inverter, no batteries, daytime pumping is sufficient. We use an ordinary filter for suspended sediment particles, usually changed monthly.
This pic is looking down into the well, which was dug down to about 70 feet. Over the years it had filled in with silt and debris to now being about 56 feet deep, with water level holding at 10-14 feet below the surface. See the leaves on the water??
The water is lifted about 120' and pumped 850' distant thru 1/2" NSF-certified ranch tubing to an 1100 gallon polyethylene(?) storage tank near the hilltop. It gravity-flows into the pumphouse, then thru a 2nd (charcoal/taste) filter. A continuous-duty RV-type booster pump feeds the pressure tank made from an discarded water heater. Power is just a 40-watt PV panel on the pumphouse roof feeding a 12-volt RV/marine battery. A series of check valves allows gravity-fed water for slow plant watering and just in case the pump or battery fails.
Electricity The roof of our Solar Shed, added to the left of the Outhouse, now holds 12 PV modules (586 watts); the inside contains all the solar equipment - batteries, inverter, controllers, breaker panels & related, plus serves as my toolshed and workshop. For a long time we got by on just the 6 Kyocera 51w panels; during that period all the concrete for outbuildings and the house footings & cooling tower/trenches were poured using a 1/2 hp electric mixer.
Grid-power is 4 miles (think $263,000!) away, so photovoltaic solar was our only choice, and I love it! Our latest and probably final PV addition was these 4 Solarex 120-watt panels, mounted on a poletop rack I'd originally bought for 8 Kyocera 51-watts. When the time came, the Solarex proved to be a better deal for this situation.
Our PV output delivers an average 5 KW daily, giving us have enough power for our home, electric fridge, automatic washer, computer all-day every-day, and power tools. At night we run just the fridge, lights and TV. We do have to conserve on bad-sun days. We don't own and don't want a generator - that power is more expensive than PV, not to mention the noise and pollution. I will admit to using my old truck as a backup generator, but that's rare.
With a battery budget of only $12 monthly, I am very pleased.
Water Heating is also done for free by the sun, but again, the right climate is necessary.
This simple setup on Black Dike serves well enough, but this water heater suffers from several incidents of bonehead thinking on my part, and I'm going to rebuild it. First, it's too much shaded where it's set; and Next, < maximum exposure to the sun; and Finally, hot water outlet at the top - stratification IS a problem!
I will post another picture and some explanation when the revamping is done.
Good article on solar water heating at HomePower magazine. Please eMail me if/when this link goes dead!
Propane (or natural gas if available) is used for cooking and auxiliary heating. In our home under construction, there's a fireplace included, more for romantic than for heating considerations ... and no conventional heating.
Building Heating is done - for free - by the sun. That's what passive solar is all about. In areas of good sun - all of the Southwest and the Rockies, supplemental heating is minimal or even optional, depending on the climate extremes of the area and building site.
Our house under construction will contain large windows and sliding doors to the south, allowing the sun to heat dark-color concrete/hard-tile floors and parts of the walls. The upper clerestory windows are to allow the sun to reach the inside of the north wall, particularly important because the bathroom is to the north.
Problems multiply in areas with days and days of clouded skies. Total solar heating in such conditions may be possible, but building costs could soar to ridiculous. In more difficult locations, you should plan on conventional heating systems or alternative heat sources. However, good solar orientation and design will greatly reduce the operating costs AND increase comfort!
Communications is a often a concern - and a biggie on Black Dike. Phone is three miles away, and Ma Bell quoted $323,000-something to extend to our place. Verizon Wireless serves our phone needs, and I have connected my cellphone to the computer and used it for (rather slow, but) connecting to the internet.
We're using a plain TV antenna right now, but DirecPC/TV, Pegasus, Sprint (and more coming) have dish satellite access for both TV and internet access. I'm betting that the wireless phone can or will be soon enough tied into that - technology is just more and more incredible every day, huh?
Updated by RonKZ Tuesday, September 14, 2004
copyright 1998 - 07 July 2006 by Ron Klotz-Zellhoefer, SolarSense Designs, Arizona & New Mexico
Permission is granted and welcomed for personal application only.
